Google My Business: Changes to Be Aware Of

Google My Business: Changes to Be Aware Of

You may or may not have noticed that Google has temporarily removed some features from Google My Business as a result of the current COVID-19 situation. There are a few features that have been changed during this time that you need to be aware of, so here’s some help in understanding what these are and how it’s affecting the GMB page:

Where are my new reviews?

For the time being, Google My Business will not be publishing any new reviews. You will also not be able to reply to your reviews or new Q&A’s until further notice. Don’t panic though – any existing reviews you have, replies to those reviews or Q&A’s will still be visible.

New Listings, Claims and Verifications

Google is now, understandably, prioritising reviewing new listings, claims and verifications for critical health-related businesses. For all other services, you can expect delays of the publication of any new listings, claims and verifications.

I’ve Edited My GMB Page, But Where Are My Edits?

You may have made lots of edits to your Google My Business page so that you are on top of your game and potential customers can see how you’re operating during the coronavirus crisis. But now you’re left wondering, where are they?

Google are running on limited resources, so they have issued warnings that any changes made to your business information will now take a little longer to review. As before, businesses that are directly related to healthcare and critical services will be prioritised. If you don’t fall into that category, Google are now only reviewing edits to the following bits of information:

• Changes to your opening hours

• Whether you are operating on special hours

• Temporary closures of your business

• Descriptions of your business – perhaps you’ve decided to run differently and would like to inform potential new clients of your stances on the coronavirus pandemic

• Changes to your business attributes

If you’ve made edits to your Google My Business page, your efforts will not be disregarded – it will just take longer than usual for them to show up. Google have confirmed that it may take up to three days for your edits to show.

Can I Post Updates in Google Posts?

Yes! Google is currently not restricting the Google Posts functionality. If you’ve got new updates that you’d like to share with your customers, you can still let them know via GMB in the Google Posts function.

We would advise you take advantage of this feature whilst you still can. It’s another way to communicate with your audience and could potentially attract your next new client!

Don’t Forget to Post a COVID-19 Update

You can now inform your customers of relevant information relating to your business. This can include how you are now working, such as new events, new products, offers and announcements.

When you complete your COVID-19 Update, it will look like this under your usual GMB information. Don’t forget to add a CTA to your post and direct people to your new events, products or services!

We hope that our guide will help you to demystify some of your Google My Business questions and queries. We understand that these times can be challenging for businesses of all sizes. We are running all our popular digital marketing courses online, so that we can help as many of you as possible prepare for the environment after coronavirus and of course, keep you going right now. Our courses are free to charities or members of The Projects Brighton and currently only £10 + VAT for everyone else. Head over to our Eventbrite to find out what courses we have coming up next!

Keyword Searches Have Changed Due To Covid-19

Keyword Searches Have Changed Due To Covid-19

How do you think your customers find you on Google or other search engines? 

Keywords are simply the words that a user decides to use when trying to find what they are looking for online. Whether local, national or purely online, the keyword or keywords are entered into a search engine, which then locates websites that are authoritative, relevant and supply the information, product or services the user is looking for. 

Prior to Covid-19, there were likely a few keywords that you could tell me were being searched for by your then customers or potential customers - but how has the landscape changed now?

Having conducted research on a number of different industry sectors, Creative Bloom have found that March 2020 saw a 50% decrease in typical search volumes on specific topics. The majority of sectors that operated services in physical locations were affected by this and saw a transition to keywords related to online services. 

• Online searches in Brighton for ‘Online Course’ have changed from 90 searches per month in Feb 2020 to 320 searches per month in Mar 2020.

• Online searches in Brighton for ‘free online course’ have changed from 110 searches per month in Feb 2020 to 590 searches per month in Mar 2020. 

If, for example, you run training or physical workshops in a specific geographical area, we can tell you that the search terms, traffic and intent have all changed. For example, no longer are users looking for ‘Website Training in Brighton’, but now keywords are all about ‘online website training’. No longer are users searching for ‘Personal Trainers in Brighton’ but instead ‘online personal trainer’ or ‘at home leg workout’. 

It’s vital that you do your own research to understand how the search environment has changed for your business and how your competitors have adapted. Should you also consider changing your content / website / strategy to mirror this change?

Creative Bloom are offering a FREE keyword trend report for any company, charity or individual interested. Get in touch with us here and we’ll be happy to help shed some light on how your sector search terms have changed. 

The Value of Pay Per Click Advertising

PPC. Those three letters can be quite daunting to someone who’s never properly investigated them. Pay-Per-Click advertising can be complex, but definitely worth it. Done correctly, PPC can be incredibly valuable for businesses and brands of all sizes.

So, What Is Pay Per Click Advertising?

Per-per-click (or PPC for short) is an advertising model that enables businesses to place adverts on an ad platform and pay the host of that platform every time their ad is clicked. Still with us?

The ultimate goal of a PPC advert is to entice your audience and lead the person viewing it to click through to your website or app. This is so that whoever is visiting your website or app can complete a valuable action – such as purchasing your product.

The most common type of PPC ads are ‘Paid Search Ads’. These types of adverts are usually displayed when someone searches for something online using a search engine like Google. These occupy the top four spots in Google search engine result pages. Did you know that 64.6% of consumers clicked on Google ads when shopping online*?

A big driver in using PPC advertising is the immediate results that can come from your campaign. Strategically crafted PPC campaigns can provide excellent traffic to your website, prompt business leads and attract more customers in a short amount of time.

How PPC Can Benefit Your Business

Using PPC in your marketing strategy can help you achieve a vast number of business and marketing goals. Benefit from high-level brand exposure and - even better - get a sale or a new lead!

Using PPC advertising can support many parts of the sales funnel and the path that your prospect customers take from brand awareness to becoming a paying customer.

PPC can help you assess what keywords to utilise for your SEO strategy, and give you presence where your SEO may not.

Your PPC Advert is Measurable and Trackable

Another great thing that can come from running PPC ads is that almost any type of conversion goal can be tracked. You can measure anything that is related to your PPC campaign such as costs, profits, views, clicks and visits. From the time you begin your PPC campaign, you will know how much you have spent and be able to see whether you are generating a profit or a loss.

There will be no mysteries when it comes to your PPC performance! Combined with Google Analytics you’ll be able to see high-level performance details. All your stats will be readily available, so you’ll be able to see what kind of traffic you are getting and what results they are driving for your advert budget.

Stay in Control of your PPC Adverts

Staying in control of your PPC adverts means there is a lot of flexibility if you decide you’d like to start off small. For instance, if you’re beginning to see positive results from your advert you can decide to scale up immediately and start raking in the customers! Or, if it’s not going to plan you can take a break and pause or stop your ad entirely. This gives you the opportunity to be in control of your spending and work accordingly.

Another great feature of running PPC ads is the opportunities to make quick edits and optimise while your ads are up and running. Anything from a sneaky spelling mistake to deciding to test something completely new – you are in complete control of your ad.

We hope this has helped uncover a few mysteries for you when it comes to PPC Advertising. If you want to learn more about how PPC advertising could benefit your business then how about attend one of our Online PPC Training Sessions? It’s important to us that we help you, help yourselves and your business. Our online PPC training will teach you why Paid Advertising is so important and how it can boost your website traffic and ultimately get you more customers!

• Ref: wordstream, 2019 Study of US paid advertising market

A Shopper's Guide To Sustainable Products

A Shopper's Guide To Sustainable Products

So, you want to do what you can for the environment and be more sustainable in your every-day life? Welcome to the club—sustainability and eco-friendliness are hot topics right now.

And consumer habits are witnessing changes in light of this rise in awareness. According to a recent survey, consumers are willing to pay more for clothes considered sustainable and more eco-friendly, a trend which isn’t limited to fashion.

But for consumers wanting to make the right choices and ‘do their bit’, the path isn’t exactly clear. With environmental terminology and jargon coming out of our ears, as well as fact and fiction about the sustainability of items blurred, shoppers need a clear guide to what the options are—importantly—what it all means.

In this blog post, product marketing specialists, Zagwear, provide a shopper’s guide to sustainable products.

What is a Sustainable Product?

The definition of sustainable is ‘the quality of causing little or no damage to the environment and therefore able to continue for a long time’.

But in reality, the impact that a product has on the environment—from its manufacture to eventual disposal—is only part of the story. Products that claim to be sustainable should also consider their social and economic impact.

The three sides to sustainability:

• Environmental - impact of a product—from manufacture to disposal—on the environment, such as its carbon footprint.

• Social - impact of a product on society, such as trading ethically.

• Economic - profitability of a product for the business that brings it to market.

With the growing concern over the future of our planet and turmoil seen across the world which are widely considered the result of Man’s activities, environmental is a key focus for those looking to be more sustainable.

As well as environmental impact, social sustainability is also a focal point, with ensuring workers are paid fairly and kept safe a priority for the 21st century consumer.

Shopping for Sustainable Products

But even with a clear idea of what sustainability is, knowing if a product falls into this category can still be challenging. What should consumers look out for when trying to shop sustainably?

Don’t Get ‘Greenwashed’

Brainwashing consumers into thinking a product is sustainable or eco-friendly, green washing are products which are packaged in a way to make them look like they’re good for the environment, even though they’re not.

Often sporting natural colours and minimalistic design on their packaging, these items are false pretenses. The companies guilty of green washing are often spending more time and money on marketing themselves as environmentally friendly than they are on minimising their global impact.

Delve Deeper Into Brands

If green washing shows one thing, it’s that the word of a brand can’t always be trusted. If you want to shop for sustainably, you need to do the groundwork to find the brands who really are out to do good.

If a brand has taken action to be more sustainable, the chances are that they’ll want to publicise that.

From information on a brands website and social media to employee spokespeople in brick-and-mortar stores, a simple search or question should be able to give you all the information you need to establish if a products sustainability is legitimate.

The environmental impacts of products can be a bit of a minefield. This post has hopefully clarified sustainability, but there’s much more to shopping responsibly.

If you want to know more about this topic, take a look at our in-depth Eco Glossary.

This article was contributed by Daniel Hill, a creatively-driven, product marketing specialist currently responsible for heading up Zagwear’s EMEA & APAC regions. His years of experience in branding, brand activation and promotional merchandise has seen him assist some of the world’s best-known brands with incorporating product-based marketing in their campaigns.

Digital Marketing Tips For 2021

What we consider as 'marketing' is rapidly evolving and becoming a lot broader. To get the most out of our digital marketing in 2020, we need to understand that It is no longer just about your branding and advertising, teams from multiple departments need to focus on building great customer experiences and engaging customers to form long-term relationships. As the year is drawing to an end, we take a look at the key digital marketing trends to look out for in 2020.

Shopping through Social Media

Shopping through platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest has just become a whole lot easier. A whopping 72% of Instagram users have purchased a product through the app, proving that creating shoppable posts can have a huge impact on your business. A survey of 4,000 Pinterest users found that 70% use the app to find new an exciting products. Using your social media channels as an online shop will attract new customers quickly and easily and shorten the sales funnel making it easier for consumers to purchase from your business.

Go Live!

Customers respond well to visual content. Putting yourself and your business out there by making video content is an important marketing tool for not only 2019, but also 2020 and beyond. Be brave and go live! On average, Facebook and Instagram Live keep your audience watching three times longer than pre-recorded videos. Producing a live video will see you gain six times as many interactions as traditional videos, and the average watch time of Facebook Live videos has quadrupled in the past year.

Interactive Content

Today's shoppers are on the look out for new experiences online as well as offline. Interactive content is different and exciting which results in consumers spending more time on your website or social media channels. As interactive content is immensely shareable, when viewers share your posts it will help you gain a wider following and grow your online presence. 

Get Crafty

Producing content that is visual and in-particular, colourful, will increase viewers desire to carry on reading by 80%. Our brains process visuals 60,000 times faster than text alone, and you don't need to be a graphic designer to begin creating posts with your logos and brand colours. Utilise free tools such as Canva to create colourful and engaging content and begin producing content that has a strong visual presence and watch your interactions increase by up to 180%! 

Transport To the Future

Companies like IKEA have already begun reaping the benefits of AR by creating a platform which allowed customers to see if the furniture they want to buy will fit in their homes before they made a purchase.

A number of companies are also using AI powered technology to add chat-bots with automated answers to help aid customers through their website and keep them engaged throughout their time on the website. 

AI and predictive analytics is also enabling hyper-personalisation of customer experiences and helping brands to learn more about their audience and customers.

In a digital world which is forever changing and adapting, there's an array of things that you can do to create engaging and exciting content in 2020. These pointers only just scratch the surface of the endless creative possibilities which can see your business gain more engagement on your social media posts and see more traffic to your website, leading to further sales and inquiries. 

The Value Of Local SEO

The Value Of Local SEO

Your local high street really is changing. Online retailers have been mercilessly muscling in on local business traffic, reducing footfall and it’s become increasingly difficult for local businesses to get the customers they need; through their doors. 

As a result, online real estate has become incredibly high value territory and local businesses have begun moving their attention to the top 10 positions on a Google local results page. Owning your space and competing on Google is imperative to get you in front of your local customers and keep you prepared for an ever-evolving, digitally-focussed future. 

So What Is Local SEO?

Local SEO or Local Search Engine Optimisation, is the most effective approach to enable you to market your local business online, with the goal being, to rank as highly as possible for search terms relating to your business/product and ultimately increase sales and leads. 

Keywords that shout ‘local’:

• Digital marketing near me

• Digital marketing agency brighton

• Digital marketing brighton

• Local digital agency

There are a number of different factors that influence Local SEO including: geographical location, Google My Business page optimisation, review signals, local links, keyword rich content etc.

However, it’s important to remember that Search Engine Optimisation of any kind is not something you perform once and then ‘forget about’. You must be continuously aware of the search environment, how your customers are using keywords and search queries differently and also keeping an eye on what your competitors are doing.

What’s The Financial Value of Local SEO?

Let’s understand the financial value of ranking highly for a keyword. Let’s imagine the keyword ‘digital marketing agency’ costs £3 per click for Paid Advertising placement and that keyword gets 200 searches per month.

As the number #1 Organic spot in Google receives approx 30% of that traffic, the clicks you would get in the first organic position would equate to around £180 if they had been generated from advertising.

In addition, if you were ranking for 4/5 other top keywords, that would cost close to £900 a month to cement if it had been generated from advertising.

We should also consider that with paid ads, sometimes users ignore them completely and go to the first organic results - another example of how valuable the top organic rankings can be.

So once you’re ranking well for keywords organically through Local SEO, you’re theoretically getting clicks for free!

Are My Customers Actually Searching Online?

95% of smartphone users have used their mobile to perform local searches. This can be anything from a cafe to Architectural services, local charities, recycling centres and beyond. If you don’t have an online presence, haven’t optimised your website or Google My Business page then it’s inevitable that you’re missing out on a huge amount of potential customers. What’s worse, is your competitors are the ones benefiting from your lack of local signals!

Will Local SEO Help My Website Get Found?

If you follow the right steps, stay consistent and ensure you put the time and effort doing it right, then the simple answer is, yes. 

We have worked with a huge number of local businesses in Sussex and other parts of the UK who have followed our formula and seen their local rankings improve drastically. 

We’re so confident in our process that if after 6 months you haven’t increased your leads, then we’ll work for free until we do. 

October - Ruby Moon

CELEBRATING INDIVIDUALS, COMPANIES AND PROJECTS PROMOTING POSITIVE CHANGE EACH MONTH!

RubyMoon is the world’s only not-for-profit swim and activewear brand that positively impacts the social and environmental state of our planet.

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOU

Jo Godden is a lingerie and swimwear specialist, mother and activist. After 25 years working in the unsustainable Fashion Industry, Jo decided to be part of the solution and founded RubyMoon Design CIC. RubyMoon is the world’s only not-for-profit swim and activewear brand that positively impacts the social and environmental state of our planet, whilst investing in women entrepreneurs.

WHAT AMAZING WORK YOU ARE DOING OR INVOLVED IN FOR POSITIVE CHANGE?

Designed according to slow fashion principles, all the RubyMoon active wear is versatile, affordable and easily combined with each other. The prints are exclusive, created and kindly donated by Sarah Arnett, a local decorative artist. Garments are durable, super comfortable, soft, smooth, fully opaque, chlorine and salt water resistant, with long term shape retention and UPF 50+ Protection, PETA-Approved Vegan and Oeko-Tex certified. RubyMoon has certified it’s product to use 42% less carbon emissions when compared with similar products. With a transparent supply chain, manufactured ethically and safely in the UK & Spain, the distribution is managed by bagsofsupport.co.uk a charity employing working mothers.

The RubyMoon collection includes leggings, crop tops, sports bras and swimwear: and each piece can be used for yoga, watersports, zumba, the gym and of course, in the pool.

WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE YOURSELF IN 5 YEARS?

Jo is currently developing a range of sustainable accessories to compliment the clothing, including locally sourced circular economy eyewear, flip flops and snorkeling fins- and she hopes that RubyMoon will be the destination of choice for the conscious consumer looking for sustainable choices.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

If you’re interested in what products RubyMoon are creating next and ways they are helping to create a more sustainable planet, follow them on their social channels.

Website: www.rubymoon.org.uk
Twitter: @rubymoonswim
Facebook: @rubymoon.org.uk
Instagram: @rubymoonswim

Get yourself featured as our next ‘Bloomer Of The Month’. Tell us about your project or business achieving amazing things in the Brighton/Sussex area.

Brighton Sustainable Fashion and Local Choices

Brighton Sustainable Fashion and Local Choices

The price of staying fashionable is more than just what’s on the price tag.

The fashion industry is considered to be the second most polluting industry in the world. This not only puts a huge amount of pressure on our planet but also the garment workers that are creating our clothes. The textile industry relies mostly on non-renewable resources – an estimated 98 million tonnes a year- including oil to produce synthetic fibres, fertilisers to grow cotton and harmful chemicals to produce, dye and finish fibres and textiles. If the fashion industry carries on using these resources the way they are currently, by 2050 the fashion industry could use more than 26% of the carbon budget associated with the 2°C global warming limit.

In 2013, the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing 1,138 people and injuring 2,500. The Rana Plaza building had five different factories inside, all manufacturing garments for large global fashion brands. The majority of people who make clothes for the big fashion brands you see on the high-street live in poverty and are unable to buy basic necessities for themselves or their families. 80% of these workers are women, who are subject to exploitation, verbal and physical abuse and extremely poor working conditions with very little pay.

What sustainable fashion choices can I make?

The first thing we can do is to shop second hand. Charity shops, car boot sales, vintage stores… there are so many places we can go to find fashion. There are some real gems out there ready to be re-loved! If you find something in a charity shop, not only will you be helping the planet you’ll also be helping the charity you’ve chosen to shop at.

For September, Oxfam have been running a campaign called #SecondHandSeptember. Pledge not to buy anything ‘new’ for 30 days, send in your finds on social media and join in with the movement!

Here are some local Brighton sustainable fashion choices to get you started on your second-hand journey…

·        To Be Worn Again Vintage

·        Beyond Retro Brighton

·        Dirty Harry Clothing

·        Cancer Research UK (Western Road) – they have a great vintage section too!

·        Martlets Hospice Charity Shop

Another way to help is to re-look at your current wardrobe. Do you really need to buy something new? Many of us have items of clothing in our wardrobes that still have the tags in. Consider why this is… if you know you’ll never wear it - sell it! There are many platforms out there now where you can sell your clothes, so why not make some money whilst having a clear out?

Here are a few places we recommend for selling your clothes. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure after all!

·        Depop

·        Ebay

·        Vinted

·        Facebook Marketplace

·        Or ask your friends – maybe they’ve had their eye on something of yours!

If there are clothes in your wardrobe that don’t fit anymore, or you haven’t worn them in a while donate them to a charity of your choice. There will be someone out there who will be thankful for your old pair of jeans or jacket! If you have something that looks a little worse for wear, consider a second use for it. Could it be cut up and used as a cleaning cloth? Could someone use it for arts and crafts? There are so many possibilities – and if you’re still stuck of what to do with your old worn and torn clothes recycle them in a textile recycling bank! Find textile recycling points local to Brighton & Hove here.

Local Brighton sustainable fashion choices

If you do need to buy something new consider buying from brands that are not only doing great things for the environment but also supporting the people that are creating their garments. Here are a few brands local to Brighton and Hove who are doing fantastic things…

·        Zola Amour – they create everyday essential clothing out of high-quality organic fibres. Each garment will decompose naturally and not harm the earth in the process! All the garments are made in Warwickshire and each employee is paid the Living Wage as a minimum. They currently have a pop-up shop in Dukes Lane, Brighton!

·        The Emperor’s Old Clothes – working exclusively with vintage and end-of-roll fabric The Emperor’s Old Clothes create one of a kind garments that are almost never re-produced. Everything is made in Brighton and every member of their team is paid the Living Wage. All scraps are kept and made into accessories and garments can be altered to make sure they fit perfectly and can be worn time and time again.

·        Unoa -  they source ethical and certified sustainable organic cotton and create soft and versatile leisure and active wear. Aamena, the creator of Unoa works closely with a factory in Pakistan where women are encouraged to take on fairly paid leadership roles supported by the United Nations Development Programme.

Hopefully we have inspired you to make some small but impactful changes to the way you think about fashion and what alternatives there are out there for you to do ‘your bit’! Brighton is full of various eco-friendly and sustainable brands and with a multitude of vintage shops around – it’s one of the best places to help you make more conscious decisions when shopping for clothes.

Do you feel strongly about having a positive impact in your community or environment around you? There are so many ways you can get involved with great projects in your area. Check out how you can become A Bloomer.

How Millennials Are Demanding Social Responsibility Within The Workplace

How Millennials Are Demanding Social Responsibility Within The Workplace

Millennials are a growing presence within the workplace; by 2020, millennials, the generation born between 1980 and 2000, will comprise more than 50 per cent of the UK workforce.

How is the wave of millennials pushing corporate social responsibility into action?

Millennials in the workplace are stereotyped as many (mostly negative things); fickle, unmotivated, greedy, entitled, ''technology-obsessed'', you name it, millennials have been accused of it. 

But what actually motivates millennials in the workplace? Extensive research suggests that millennials are not only driven by social change, but they expect and demand businesses to meet their high expectations of acknowledging their corporate social responsibility.

According to a PwC report; corporate social values become more important to millennials when their basic requirements, like adequate pay and working conditions, are reached. The report states that "millennials want their work to have a purpose, to contribute something to the world."

Similarly, a study conducted by Cone Communications highlighted that three-quarters of millennials consider a company's social and environmental commitments when deciding where to apply for work. This suggests that millennials want to feel they are contributing positively to broader society and want to feel like they can support the social good their company does. 

The drive to work within an ethical and socially driven workplace shouldn't be surprising. The younger generation has access to the news instantly and continuously. Meaning their awareness and understanding of today's social injustices has equipped them to push brands to put meaning behind the company's advertising. 

Nowadays "people are so aware of the concept of greenwashing...so if you are saying you are sustainable or having certain values, then failing to abide by them, people will know you are not being authentic" - Katie Leggett from Innocent.

Millennials are stereotypically known for being fickle with their job and ''job-hopping'' whenever it suits them. However, research suggests that a business' commitment to a responsible business model can be a significant factor in whether young people agree to stay or leave. For example, nearly 70 per cent of millennials said that if a company had a strong sustainability plan, it would influence their decision to stay long term. Additionally, 75 per cent of millennials would even take a pay cut if that meant they could work for a socially responsible company! 

What workforce diversity means for millennials

Diversity is another crucial aspect of millennials demand from the workplace. For them, diversity includes everything from race, gender, sexual orientation and different thoughts and perspectives. They want an open and transparent work culture where inclusivity and diversity are at its heart. They are less likely to accept the traditional approaches to the workplace and demand that discrimination is tackled head-on. Results from a Deloitte survey revealed that 83 per cent of millennials feel empowered and engaged when they see that their company fosters an authentically inclusive and diverse culture.

Millennials push companies to be the best they can and in some cases can force them to change their ideology for the better. Companies must accept that 87 per cent of millennials would be more loyal to a company that helps them stand up for social and environmental issues. You can already see a change in corporate attitudes to social responsibility, in 2016, over 9,000 companies around the world have signed the UN Global Compact, a promise to uphold social responsibility in human rights, labour standards, and environmental protection.

Millennials are more connected and more conscious of the environmental and social challenges which are happening today. Millennials understand the importance of using their voices and actions to try and make a change and contribute to broader social campaigns. Consequently, they want their work life to reflect their demand for change and know that in order to make a significant difference, companies need to listen to them and follow their lead.

Do you feel strongly about having a positive impact in your community or environment around you? There are so many ways you can get involved with great projects in your area. Check out how you can become A Bloomer.

Business Support Organisations in Brighton & East Sussex

Do you need some help to make your business boom? We’ve put together a handy list of business support organisations and co-working spaces in Brighton & East Sussex, that can lift your business to the next level.

Business Support Organisations in Brighton & Sussex:

Green Growth Platform

The Green Growth Platform is the South East Regional Hub of Clean Growth UK; a national business-innovation network that has supported thousands of green businesses across the UK to innovate and grow.

Brighton University’s Green Growth Platform is an award-winning green network, which aims to help create healthy, future-proof businesses that try their best to minimise their impact on the planet. They work to encourage businesses to develop clean and environmentally friendly products and services through coaching, workshops, access to funding and access to University facilities to help green businesses scale.

Brighton Chamber of Commerce

Brighton Chamber is a diverse community, which helps its members build successful businesses and be part of Brightons welcoming community and healthy economy. Anyone running or working for a business, charity or social enterprise; in or around Brighton and Hove, can register to be a member and access all of their services.

Their services include; networking events, Bite-sized learning sessions, business support and mentoring as well as an inclusion in their online business directory.

Wired Sussex

Wired Sussex is a Brighton- based membership organisation for companies and freelancers operating in the digital, media and technology sector in Sussex, UK. They assist their members to create, innovate and grow.

They have a Directory of Members and Projects Board, which allows their members to promote their services and find new clients. They also provide business and funding support through newsletters, 1-2-1 engagement and regular events.

Natwest Accelerator

Natwest offer’s 3 variations of their Accelerator programme, all which have been tailored to empower entrepreneurs from local startups to national businesses. The 6-month programmes are fully funded, and you don’t even have to be a NatWest customer to apply! They have 12 hubs throughout the UK which you'll have access to, including hubs in Scotland and Northern Ireland and one based here in Brighton.

The Pre-Accelerator programme is tailored to early stage start-up entrepreneurs, while the Accelerator programme is targeted at established entrepreneurs. Both of these offer exciting opportunities and support such as online learning and coaching, regular action-focused events and basic legal and tech advice.

Natwest also offer the accelerator programme ‘Fintech’ which delivers specialist support such as 1:1 coaching with their experienced staff and a technology review and sales strategy analysis by Dell Technologies

Sussex Innovation Centre

The Sussex Innovation Centre is a business incubation network, supporting entrepreneurs, start-ups and scale-ups across the South East from their headquarters at the University of Sussex. They offer founders strategic insight to help grow their business, while also providing practical resources which can help businesses grow at a healthy rate.

There are a large range of membership options, where you can tailor your membership to fit your needs. There are superb facilities and resources at the modern office spaces that they offer, or their Network membership is designed to give you all the benefits of their support and mentoring when you already have your own office, or don't need a permanent base.

Co-working Spaces in Brighton:

There are also a range of local co-working spaces in Brighton and East Sussex who offer networking and training events alongside office spaces to their members.

The Projects

The Projects is located in a 19th Century listed building in the heart of Brighton’s Lanes, it’s a great communal space that still manages to place the wide range of co-working needs at its heart. They offer a variety of co-working and serviced office space options to suit your needs, with entire floors dedicated to quiet spaces or spaces where you can collaborate with other members.

From half day passes to 24/7 access, all their co-working memberships are monthly rolling, so if you change your mind, you have the freedom to change your membership.

They also host daily events; such as free coffee mornings and yoga sessions, networking opportunities and free Help Hubs. So whether your company is newly established or long standing, big or small, you can find something here to suit you.

PLATF9RM

PLATF9RM is a thriving business community in Brighton & Hove, who offer access through single day passes, whole offices bookings, meeting rooms and event spaces.

They design their workspaces to encourage networking opportunities and business connections, whether you’re a freelancer or CEO of a multinational company.

They also curate a program of social and cultural events that ensure their members get to know each other, such as their monthly breakfast and quick-fire talks from PLATF9RM members and PLATF9RM physical; an opportunity to stretch your legs and connect with your fellow co-workers.

Want even more information on how you can kickstart your business and improve your online & offline traffic? Come along to our next SEO workshop.

June - The Good Business Club

Celebrating individuals, companies and projects promoting positive change each month!

Ruth Anslow and Sara Osterholzer creating a network of change-makers and expert supporters in Brighton.

Tell us a bit about you!

Ruth Anslow (co-founder of HISBE, ethical supermarket) and Sara Ruth (business coach), really care about you and your business and support their members by understanding their current challenges and offering tailored support based on their needs – whatever they may be. They keep members informed about opportunities, events and secure exclusive offers to help them move their businesses forward. They connect members up to the right people in the network and give entrepreneurs access to business experts in a range of areas. They are there when you need someone to confined in and there when you need someone to shout out about what you’re doing.

What amazing work you are doing or involved in for positive change?

The team of GBC business coaches Pop Up across the city every week to help entrepreneurs get unstuck so that they can do more good work and grow their impact in our city. Join one of their unique Group Problem Solving Sessions that take place every other week to get a taste of what they can do for you.

The Good Business Club only launched in January 2019 and have over 100 members in the network already. In this time, they have moved at least 80 of their members forward through bespoke coaching, advice or connections to the right people.

If you are starting up or are running a business that is doing good in your community or for the environment, Join The Club to get personalised support from their friendly team of business coaches and expert supporters in the network.

Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years?

The GBC team are ambitious and supporting entrepreneurs is the tip of the iceberg. Once they have a network of connected and supported businesses they have plans to campaign to make it easier for the general public to ‘Shop for Good’ and are also looking to create the right infrastructure and bring resources to the city to create an ecosystem where ‘Business for Good’ can flourish.

Social Media Links:

If you’re also interested in what business can do to positively impact out city, follow them on their social channels to hear about the great work they and their members are doing in the city.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheGoodBizClub
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGoodBizClub/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegoodbizclub/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-good-business-club/

You can also sign up to their monthly bulletin – a snapshot of what’s going on in the sector locally.

How To SEO For International Markets

How To SEO For International Markets

Take care of the simple but important challenges before launching:

The most important challenge for international SEO is that you need to strategically adapt your brand for different cultures, all who have their own unique complexities.

Make sure to conduct market research in order to understand your international customers needs and desires. You can do this through keyword research and using social media like Twitter or Reddit to grasp a better understanding of what these customer’s problems are and what questions they are asking.

Research your local competitors, research what strategies your competitors have been using and analyse the gaps between you. Use these gaps to boost your growth into the international market.

Study the infrastructure of your targeted countries, although Google seems like the go-to norm, the preferred search engine may be different in your target countries. So don’t waste time on Google ads if your new customers aren’t going to see them! For example, in China, the most popular search engine is Baidu.

Should I target a language or a country with my website?

There are pros and cons to each option:

Targeting a language: this allows you to target people who live in different countries but speak the same language, additionally you don’t need to optimise it for any specific culture. However, you need to be aware that you’ll be using a ‘broad brush’ approach for a language where some countries may use different keywords/language when searching for services.

Targeting a country: alternatively, you can build your brand presence from scratch; not only translating your content but optimising it for that specific culture and customer preferences.

Which website structure should you choose for your domain?

This question follows on from the previous. Choosing your domain depends on whether you are targeting a language or a country.

If you are targeting a language, you don’t necessarily need to launch a completely new website, but rather you choose a subdomain or subdirectory which will host the translation of your original website. This requires less work to set up and less money to host.

On the flip-side, if you are targeting a country you may have to launch a country code top-level domain in order to gain higher authority in search engines and higher trust in potential customers. However, you will need to build your website popularity and authority from scratch.

How should business localise content on new site?

The main challenge of localising content is that simply translating a few of your pages into the target language won’t cut it. You need a well rounded and extensive understanding of your potential clientele in order to make your content effective.

Identify your keywords in a new language: unfortunately, translating your keywords word by word isn’t an efficient or viable use of your time. Additionally, some words have different meanings in different languages and can rely heavily on context, while local dialect can also play an important role in translating, as your customers may be using completely different terms.

So how can you conduct keyword research?

• Investigate your competitors: research your competitors in the local market, investigate what keywords they are using and compare them to yours in order to find common phrases.

• Hire help from a professional: hire someone who speaks the target language to look over your keywords, they can help you determine if you are using the right keywords for the language and customers you want to target.

Adapt your content to the new target market: your website is going to be your customers first point of call when they research your services/products and weigh up if they want to purchase from you. Therefore, it is extremely important that your website copy is up to a high standard. It’s not enough to simply translate, you need to optimise and adapt your copy to your target market.

These key elements of your website also require localisation:

• URLs

• Title tags

• Meta descriptions

• Image titles and alt texts

• Phone numbers

• Addresses

• Time

• Currency

How can you avoid duplicate content issues?

Google may identify any new version of your website as a duplicate of the original. You can prevent this by using hreflang tags- this tag informs Google that some of your website’s pages have the same content, but they are aimed for different customers and therefore unique.

What is the best international link-building strategy?

In order to build visibility and local authority, you need to ensure you have local links to your website. You can achieve this through:

Writing for the local media. This will allow you to gain exposure by offering advice and sharing your expertise. You could even start doing this before launching your international site. But remember; when writing for foreign websites, ensure you hire a local writer to make sure that your copy meets the standards.

Find and use broken link building. Find broken links and ask permission from the websites’ owners to redirect them to your content, (if it is suitable for the website of course).

What off-site activities can impact your online visibility?

On-site SEO is a vital process of building your brand’s local visibility but there are other techniques to take into consideration as well.

Guest posting: posting on local websites is a relatively inexpensive way to raise brand awareness.

Social media marketing: make sure aside some time to invest in creating social media profiles on the networks that are popular in your targeted countries.

Attend local events: this is one of the best ways to connect with relevant influencers in person, you can introduce your brand and start building a relationship with them straight away.

How does a global brand’s social media presence impact its search results?

The impact of social media on search engines continues to be debated. Google clearly states that social media presence has no impact on how it ranks pages. However, we know that social media presence can affect rankings in certain areas.

Brand awareness: A strong social media presence will help increase the awareness around your brand or product.

Links: Amplifying your content on social media can result in more links and citations back to your website. Which will in turn build your popularity and local authority.

Faster indexing: Social media shares can significantly increase the speed at which your new content gets indexed.

Improved topics targeting: Engaging with your new pool of customers on social media may inform how and what content you create for them.

What are the best tools for optimising international SEO?

Whatever aspect of international SEO you are focusing on, we have put together a handy list of some tools to help you optimise your website and content.

For understanding your new audience:

• Google’s Consumer Barometer: can help you understand how people use the Internet in your target countries.

• Connected Life: publishes an annual report which you can use to gain insight into your potential customers’ behavior in a number of locations, e.g. Brazil, China, Germany, Singapore and South Africa.

For general analysis:

• Google Search Console – can identify your current search status in your new target location. With the Search Console you can monitor international queries, impressions, and CTRs.

• Yandex Metrica, Baidu Index or another equivalent of Google’s Search Console – use it for a specific search engine you’re targeting.

For international keyword ideas:

• SEMrush

• Keywordtool.io

• Ubersuggest

Still have questions? Get in touch with the Creative Bloom team.

7 Amazing Sustainability Projects in Brighton You Never Knew About

7 Amazing Sustainability Projects in Brighton You Never Knew About

Brighton. The most hipster city in the world. We’re also pretty environmentally conscious. Following the success of the Climate Strike march in February 2019, slowly but surely ideas are changing about how to keep our planet healthy and happy. Here’s a list of seven eco-projects going on in our town you probably had no idea were happening...

1. Hubbub Foundation | City Centre

Hubbub have teamed up with the B&H council for their project #streetsahead, hitting our seaside city in full force. After finding out 80% of plastic found in oceans comes from land, they took a creative approach to educate citizens about appropriate disposal of litter. Through bold bright colours and catchy tagline’s like “For fishes sake — Don’t drop litter!”, this project has littered the streets of Brighton with positive environmental messages that stick in your head! They also carried out an enlightening social experiment, testing if passers-by would pick up dropped litter and produced a short video which can be viewed here — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcTJsX2lRug — Just goes to show educating others doesn’t have to be boring, and a little creativity goes a long way!

2. The Brighton Waste House | 58-67 Grand Parade

This award-winning project started out in 2012 involving over 700 students, builders, carpenters and ecologists. Now completed, this ‘living laboratory’ for ecological design is Europe’s first permanent public building made up of over 85% discarded materials. It is also an EPC ‘A’ rated low energy building and is a model used for investigating strategies for constructing contemporary and low-energy permanent structures in the future. Situated on Grand Parade, it's a monument that's worth the visit and exemplifies Brighton’s eco-friendly ethos!

3. Fareshare Sussex | 7 Westergate Road

Next on our earth-happy hot-spot list is Fareshare, a charitable project run by city gate community projects. Their work has two main objectives; tackling food poverty and tackling food waste — two aims that encapsulate the phrase ‘two birds one stone’. Fareshare receives surplus food from food companies that would otherwise go to waste, delivers it to local charities in refrigerated vans by a team of dedicated volunteers, and transforms it into thousands of meals or food parcels every week. In the last year, they’ve worked with the food industry to redistribute 468 tonnes of food, which has contributed towards more than 1 million meals and helped to reduce CO2 emissions by 223 tonnes. Simple and ethical ideas like this are an amazing way to help the hungry and save the planet from excess waste!

Additionally Fareshare Sussex work supporting people into employment, and they
re-distributed 564 tonnes to 122 charities last financial year! 

4. Freegle | Online

Freegle, Brighton’s very own freecycling platform, is an online community that encourages the three R’s — reduce, reuse, recycle — by giving away unwanted items for free! They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and this is certainly endorsed by Freegle, whose main aims are to reduce demand for the new, and appreciate the used for all it has left to offer. Thinking about that old microwave sitting in your garage? Get online to Freegle to give it another chance at life!

5. Earthship | Stanmer Park

Earthship Brighton was the first ever self-sustainable building to be built in the UK. This off-grid building project started in 2002, and now boasts the capacity to heat, cool, power itself through solar energy, collect its own rainwater and treat waste using plants instead of chemicals. Earthship Brighton is not only a monument of sustainability in our city but has also focused on educating others in reducing their carbon footprint and modifying individual behaviours for the better of our planet... It also looks incredible!

6. Brighton Pride | 2nd-4th August 2019

The UK’s biggest pride festival lands on our stoney shores every year, and plans have been put in place to ensure that us humans won’t be the only ones celebrating. Pride organisers have announced they have created a long-term strategy encouraging all businesses across the city to support their green agenda. They will also be encouraging attendees to make use of the many recycling points available across the festival and working to reduce as much single-use plastic as possible.

7. Butterfly Bank | Brighthelm Gardens

Brighton & Hove city council have teamed up with Brighthelm’s trust gardening group and youth ranger volunteers from Sussex Wildlife Trust to plant over 1,000 downland plants in the heart of Brighton. The chalk bank is 17m long and is made of 60 tonnes of chalk, attracting a huge variety of butterflies, bees, and other pollinating insects. At a time where bee populations are at serious lows and posing serious risks to the future of our planet, projects like this are one way that we humans can help out the little guys.

April - Mid Sussex Wood Recycling

Celebrating individuals, companies and projects promoting positive change each month!

I’m David Treadwell Founder of Mid Sussex Wood Recycling

Tell us a bit about you!

I set up Mid Sussex Wood Recycling in 2007, having left a 'proper job' with IBM in 2006.. I had volunteered with the Brighton Wood Store since arriving in Brighton in 2002 and the lure of setting up another project was irresistible.  My motivation was looking at skips of perfectly good construction timber being sent to landfill and the opportunity to turn this 'waste' into a resource.

What amazing work you are doing or involved in for positive change?

We are a Social Enterprise that looks to employ people that have been marginalised in Society. 12 years on and we are still turning waste into a resource. In 2018 we recycled or reused over 1500 tonnes of timber

We work with all the major house builders in the region, helping them to reduce waste and create a positive social impact. We work with Gatwick Airport and their subcontractors in an educational and practical manner.

We work with Pericles, http://www.pericles.org.uk/  which is a charity that provides training and work experience for adults with learning difficulties. We accommodate 12 of their volunteers on a variety of wood related activities at our barn.

In 2019 we are looking to set up a Community Laundry for the Charity Care and Hospice sector, which will provide a reduced cost laundry service and allow these organisations to have more funds for providing care. We also donate timber for local community and school projects.

Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years?

In the next 5 year we would love to see our Community Laundry expanding to take on more customers in the Care sector, providing extra employment for disadvantaged adults.

Our next project will be to create a growing space for fruit and vegetables in an organic environment, providing local employment and supplying local food markets.

Social Media Links:

Website: http://www.midsussexwoodrecycling.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mid_sussex_wood_recycling/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/midsussexwrp

Get yourself featured as our next ‘Bloomer Of The Month’. Tell us about your project or business achieving amazing things in the Brighton/Sussex area.

How To On-Page SEO

How To On-Page SEO

Hopefully, you’ve arrived here because you’re getting ready to do your own on-page SEO which is something we absolutely encourage at Creative Bloom! It’s not as confusing or tricky as you might think and regardless of what your website is built in, in 2019, pretty much all website builders have an SEO functionality - so whether you’ve already had a free digital clinic with Ollie & Stu or if you’re here for the first time, let’s have a re-cap.

---

Your website should be shouting about what you do and for Google, you need to be putting the right keywords in the right places. Below, we’re going to break down each element of your page that should be optimised. As our example, let’s say you have an Art Gallery in Bristol.

Choose Your Keyword

Firstly and most importantly, you need to choose a keyword for your page and this should be unique to each page you optimise. So, have a search on google for the types of keywords a visitor would be inputting and ask people you know! Sometimes we have a bias view of what we think people are searching for. If you’re a local business putting a location keyword is a key factor in ranking locally.

In this instance, I would assume the search would be ‘Bristol Art Gallery’ or ‘Art Galley In Bristol’. You can use a keyword planner to see how popular these searches are. We’re going to go with ‘Bristol Art Gallery’.

Page Title

Your page title (in blue below) is the first element Google reads about your page and this is somewhat ‘hidden’ from a visitor in the tab in your browser.

In this instance our gallery isn’t well known yet so there is no reason to put our brand name right at the beginning because no-one will be searching for it but they WILL be searching for our keyword.

As we’ve chosen our keyword as ‘Bristol Art Gallery’ we’re going to make our homepage title as so: ‘Bristol Art Gallery | The Creative Bloom Gallery’.

As you go through other pages on your site, you could choose keyword variants for those pages that users might search for, for example ‘Bristol Art Dealer’, ‘Art Gallery Exhibition Bristol’, ‘Contemporary Art Gallery Bristol’ etc.

Header (H1)

Your H1 is typically the main heading on your page (see below). This should ideally start with your keyword that you have chosen - ‘Bristol Art Gallery’. We understand this ideally may not sit quite right with the aesthetics of your page, however, without having your keyword in your header, less people will find your page. We’re all about driving more traffic to your pages and getting you more customers!

Note: Your pages should only have ONE H1! If you have any more headings on your page after your main header, make sure you change their heading tag to (H2) sub headings or (H3) sub-sub headings etc.

Keywords In Your Content

Next Google will be reading your content. You’ve already told it that you’re optimising for ‘Bristol Art Gallery’ so now it’s going to check your content to make sure you are who you say you are. That means, in the first paragraph you need to include your keyword ‘Bristol Art Gallery’ however you can. You can see how we’ve managed to incorporate the keyword into our first paragraph (below).

Note: don’t forget to include semantics. Similar words to your keyword that other sites are likely to be talking about. In this instance, with art galleries we should be including semantic keywords such as ‘paintings’ ‘contemporary’ ‘specialist’ ‘exhibition’ ‘collectibles’ ‘collections’ etc.

Alt Text - Image Keywords

Name your images! When looking to edit your page, you will notice when importing or editing images there will be an option to input ‘Alt text’ or ‘Alternative Text’. This just means a keyword to tell Google what this image is - therefore it’s an opportunity to put your keyword in there.

In our example, if we have two images on our page, I will call the alt-text on one ‘Bristol Art Gallery’ and the other ‘Art Gallery In Bristol’ - easy.

Note: don’t get too worried about going through every single image on your site. It’s simply that the more signposting you do to tell Google what your website it about, the better - Image Alt-text is an easy way to do add another positive signal.

---

And that’s it really. Do that for all your pages, or (if you have a lot) for your main parent/navigation pages and over time you should slowly start to see your rankings improving. You should still work on creating new content, driving traffic to your pages through different mediums, trying to get links from other websites etc. But this is the solid foundation to start getting you found on Google!

If you have any questions about this article, want to enquire about SEO training with us or anything else SEO related please get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.

March - Clare Talks Rubbish

Celebrating individuals, companies and projects promoting positive change each month!

I’m Clare Osborn, the founder of the platform ClareTalksRubbish.

Tell us a bit about you!

I founded the platform Clare Talks Rubbish to share stories about the amazing eco heroes I have met and to create a destination to support others who want to live a life that is not rubbish.

I am a qualified mindset coach, NLP practitioner, motivational speaker and marine debris expert. I provide coaching for living a fulfilled life, reducing your impact on the environment and I deliver keynote talks on career change, marine debris solutions and facilitate workshops for groups, businesses and events to help you to rid the physical waste and metaphorical waste out of your business, life or brand.

What amazing work you are doing or involved in for positive change?

I quit a successful legal career two years ago to follow my passion for the ocean and wellbeing. I have since paddled both the width of Britain and the Length of Wales fishing rubbish out of our waterways to raise awareness about plastic pollution.

I have just finished a project with the National Sea Scout Leaders to give them the tools to mobilise young paddlers across the country to paddle cleanup and take the message about sustainable solutions into their communities on and off the water. I am now working on a similar project with British Canoeing, and work with schools, businesses and individuals to reduce plastic.

This year I plan to take on my biggest challenge yet, to paddle the whole Welsh Coast, remote beach cleaning along the way.

In April I am launching my Talk Rubbish Podcast showcasing solutions via adventures and life stories. This will start with a series of interviews of the Oceans 8 Brighton women and their various local projects. I have already recorded a couple of episodes and am super excited about the lineup of inspiring activists, adventurers and doers.

All too often the people who have true passion to help our planet get overlooked, so I want to tell their stories, some of these people have been working on plastics for 20 years! They have struggled and overcome so many hurdles along the way so it is great to finally have attention on their projects, but for me the stories behind the projects are just as fascinating.

Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years?

I have changed my life around to live outside the box and I am so much happier for it. I want to help others with the lessons and skills I have learnt and want to encourage people to have a better life balance and get outside into nature more. With that in mind, I am hoping to grow my platform to include toolkits for sustainability, coaching for life balance and adventure.

I am aiming to eventually run wellness retreats with some of the amazing adventurers, yoga teachers and coaches I have met along my journey. I also hope to grow my podcast to get inspiring stories out there about people who are following their bliss and finding doors that open where they didn’t know doors existed.

How can people get involved?

I would love for people to get involved. I am looking for a marketing/ social media intern to help me with the podcast and my platform in general. I am looking for sponsors and partners for the podcast and the kayak expedition and can provide a platform for companies to align their brand with sustainable solutions.

The next event that people can get involved with is the next PaddlePickup Expedition. We will be cleaning remote beaches in the Summer Isles in Scotland and any level of paddler can join us.  I cant wait, it’s going to be the best one yet! Details are here.

Social Media Links:

Website: https://claretalksrubbish.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clareosborn/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClareTalks

Get yourself featured as our next ‘Bloomer Of The Month’. Tell us about your project or business achieving amazing things in the Brighton/Sussex area.

Local SEO in 2021 - Podcast With Social Brighton

Local SEO Tips in 2021 - Podcast

Creative Bloom’s Stu was delighted to be a guest on Social Brightons podcast, hosted by Kerry Watkins to demystify digital and talk through the latest local SEO tips in 2020. We love the team and all the work Social Brighton do! Listen to the podcast below:

Customer behaviour in ‘search land’ is changing & is clearly influenced by Google’s most recent updates. Your Local SEO strategy might need to adapt to keep up the pace.

As far as Google is concerned, in 2019 its looking for quality and not quantity and so are your customers! It is far better to add a page that adds real value to your customers rather than producing pages to gain search rankings or creating thinly populated or duplicated content. Your local rankings won’t benefit from these tactics no matter how you tweak them.

Stu’s top tip: Have a look at your website, read the content out loud, do the same for your closest competitors & ask yourself the question: do you deserve to rank?

Google’s updates have not only changed its algorithm but improved the way it displays information about businesses. Potential customers are no longer browsing multiple sites to compare and find their desired service; instead, they are using the vast ocean of information that Google gives them via your Google My Business Page (GMB page). So ensure you pay attention to what’s appearing on the SERPS (Search Engine Results Pages) and ensure you are on those platforms.

When customers want to access your phone number, review your track record, opening times and upcoming events, they are no longer looking at your website but are expecting to find that information on your GMB page. As Googles & users behaviour changes, your first chance to make an impression on potential customers is by taking advantage of your Google My Business profile and uploading all the information you can and make it sparkle. Here is where you get to own your space - so make it count.

SEO’s are in 100% agreement that Google My Business (GMB) ranking signals will play a much more important for SEO in 2019, especially for local SEO. However, many businesses are not yet paying attention to this new important aspect of local search, so making the most out of your Google My Business page can be a quick and easy way to make you shine brighter than your competition.

Here are our top tips to get you ahead of the race:

• Make sure your business name is correct and consistent, don’t play around with variations, make sure your address is correct, and the map pin is placed in the right spot: you don’t want to send potential customers off on a wild goose chase trying to find your physical location! Also pick the best street view image for your business (and not of bins behind the back!) If your business address is your home consider a virtual office or join a co-working as seeing a residential address can cast doubt on the credibility of the business

• Make sure you’ve got a local phone number listed if possible, it’s easy to get one via VOIP if needed, make sure your correct opening hours are listed & match those on your website: you don't want to confuse Google! You need to be consistent in order to prove your validity as a business

• Most importantly make sure you choose the right categories, choose the fewest and most specific categories: use these predefined categories to reflect what you actually do, it will determine what keywords you will appear for. Pick three key words to describe your business and see what your competitors are optimising for. Here is a great post on choosing the right GMB category by Bright local

• Make sure you’ve got great photos & videos, of you, your people, your office & products and videos uploaded: express your brand identity! Show off your style and don't forget to swap them out every now and again to keep it fresh. Videos are one of the best way to boost engagement and catch peoples eyes so make the most out of them and use them to your advantage

• Make sure you’ve got a great aggregate review score – at least a 4.5: make sure to respond to every review to highlight that you care about what customers have to say! Google isn't sending you those review emails for no reason ;)

• Make sure to update and add any events, and other posts you are hosting through Google Posts: it’s a great way to promote your events quickly and easily while ensuring that you are targeting the relevant people AND you are adding content where Google wants you to

• Make sure that you’re monitoring your questions and answers which is a relatively new feature: answer new questions quickly and if needed ask/answer your own questions so that commonly requested information is easily available so it becomes your FAQ page on GMB

The final point is that you need to take your business wizard hat off and look at your profile as a first time customer. Is all your information readily available? Is it easy to understand and access? Does your business look appealing & compelling? Would you buy from it? 

So keep up to date with how your local SEO strategy needs to change alongside Google’s updates and focus on your Google My Business Page. You’ll show up better in local searches, and gain more conversions!

How to Create a Successful Marketing Strategy

At Bloom Towers, we often find that some clients & marketing managers struggle to get traction with their marketing campaigns. In the bewildering landscape of digital marketing it can be hard to work out the right way forward for your business marketing - ‘should I invest more in SEO? Or a content strategy? Or focus on social media?’ A bad marketing strategy can tank your business - just ask these bears.

Fear not! We are here to guide you through the digital labyrinth.

Successful marketing strategies start with thorough diagnosis

For us strategy is all about identifying the key challenges you face in your competitive & business landscape and creating the means of overcoming them. An effective marketing strategy can be fundamental in allowing a business to effectively build value in it’s brand, services or products.

Creative Bloom’s approach to Digital Marketing strategy takes inspiration from a US strategist called Richard Rumelt and his book Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why it Matters (2011) (we suggest get a copy if you haven’t read it). Rumelt explains that strategy should not be defined by ambition, leadership, vision or planning; but a coherent action backed by an argument, and we agree entirely. For Rumelt, the essence of a successful strategy is thorough diagnosis of a situation, creating an overall guiding policy to overcome challenges and the design of coherent action plan, that is driven to effect.

So, applied to marketing, a good strategy can be broken down into three key ideas.

1. Diagnosis: getting to grips with what’s really going on. This involves effort and a deep analysis of your current marketing efforts & available resources, the competitive landscape you operate in. You need to gain insights into your market environment, your customers and assess your competition and internal situation. These insights are important as Rumelt says “an especially insightful diagnosis can transform one’s view of the situation, bringing a radically different perspective to bear.” When a digital marketing diagnosis is carried out properly, it will correctly inform how you respond to weaknesses/challenges.
   
   

2. A Guiding Policy; the purpose of this is to direct your actions, it is the context in which your actions are made and helps to ‘guide’ them. “It is like a signpost, marking the direction forward but not defining the details of the trip”, the guiding policy should outline the overall approach for tackling the weaknesses you identified with your deep diagnosis. An example of a successful guiding policy is Barcelona FC who developed a guiding policy of embracing ‘Total Football’ throughout the club in the 1970s to then become a powerhouse in European club football.
   
   

3. Coherent Action; strategy is nothing without action or measurement. Just as a diagnosis informs the guiding policy, the guiding policy informs the coherent action to achieve your goal. These actions should be coherent, consistent and coordinated. “A good strategy doesn’t just draw on existing strength; it creates strength through the coherence of its design” , these actions should support and build upon each other, steadily building towards the goal. Performance measurement is critical for good strategy: Are our actions making an impact? Is the strategy working? Do we need to adjust things?

Only through the process of regular performance monitoring can you develop a successful marketing strategy, be prepared & geared up to adapt.

In summary, when all three areas have been considered and you haven’t rushed or skipped any steps, you can maximise your opportunities of delivering fantastic results!

NEED SOME HELP? WE ARE HERE TO ASSIST

CONTACT US TO HELP YOU CREATE AN IMPACTFUL MARKETING STRATEGY

An Eco-Friendly Guide To Brighton

Brighton is leading the way with its eco-friendly conscience, something that is reflected in its huge range of ethical shops. Our city is filled to the brim with second hand goodies, handmade treasures and multitudes of cafes boasting their eco-friendly morals. At times it can be overwhelming, so where should you start?

Your breakdown starter-kit for eco-friendly shopping in Brighton:

Small Batch Coffee: Brighton , 17 Jubilee St, BN1 1GE

They started off as a small family run business, and despite their growth they still treat their workers like family! Their coffee comes from 20 countries, that fit into their Farm to Cup philosophy. They aim to develop long term relationships with their coffee producers by buying from them year after year, visiting them to understand the challenges they face and paying sustainable prices significantly higher than the Fair Trade minimum.

Brighton Repair Cafe: 33 Southover Street, Hanover Centre,BN2 9UD

Giving things a new lease of life; repairing and reusing is the motto of The Brighton Repair Cafe. They are open on the last Saturday of the month (apart from December) and with help from craftsmen and volunteers; they can fix everything from clothing to electronics. Plus you can have a cuppa, while you learn some new skills on how to extend the life of your beloved items!

Wolf and Gypsy Vintage: 30 Sydney Street, North Laine, Wolf & Gypsy Vintage, , BN1 4EP

Shopping secondhand is one of the best ways to ensure your spending habits are eco-friendly. The crew at Wolf and Gypsy Vintage not only repair worn items and source incredible vintage bits but they also sell beautiful new pieces of clothing.  They love to collaborate with local artists and specialists, so keep your eyes peeled for unique campaigns.

Dowse Design: 27 Gloucester Rd, BN1 4AQ

At Dowse Design they believe in collaborating with people they know are fairly paid for their work. Their Brighton shop showcases their range of jewellery, homewares and more alongside other pieces of work from great independent small businesses & designers. So you can rest easy, knowing you are supporting the incredible talent that Brighton has to offer.

Need more tips for eco-friendly shopping?

Check out ‘The Pebble Guide to Brighton’ ; a simple way to check what great eco shops and community projects are happening around Brighton.

Have you heard about ‘The Brighton Elephant’?

February - Social Brighton

Celebrating individuals, companies and projects promoting positive change each month!

I’m Kerry Watkins, MD of Social Brighton.

Tell us a bit about you!

I founded Social Brighton back in 2010 because I wanted to help businesses develop the skills they needed to use social media effectively to grow their business.

I got into social media by accident really, I was an operations manager in the bar and nightclub sector when social media really took off and immediately saw an opportunity for a more impactful and two-way approach to marketing with our target audience.

I developed a marketing strategy that was built on using social to communicate with our customers and wider audience whilst reducing our print costs and environmental impact at the same time. Over that year, we managed to save tens of thousands and massively reduce our print and waste.

Since 2010 I’ve grown the business and we deliver training and consultancy as well as more hands on support, specialising in social media strategy development and Facebook & Instagram advertising.

I love the variety of clients we work with; one moment we’re creating content for high street retailers and then, I’ll be working on a strategy for a social impact project in Africa. There’s a unique way every organisation can leverage social media and I love working with them to identify and develop that unique approach.

What amazing work you are doing or involved in for positive change?

I have a great team at Social Brighton and we are all very passionate about what we do. We’re currently managing a couple of social media projects in developing countries; one is about challenging social norms around gender equality to improve the lives of women, and the other is improving knowledge around health and hygiene for new mums in poor areas.

I’m also working with Safe & The City, a new app. The aim is to create a world in which everyone can feel safe. Through crowdsourcing user & crime data, our mission is to help them shape smarter, safer streets, communities & cities. We started working with Jillian Kowalchuk, the inspirational founder, last year to develop a social media framework and hope to support them growing the app beyond London.

We also recently partnered with a charity called CALM (The Campaign Against Living Miserably) and are donating 10% of our training course profits to them this Jan & Feb. The team and I are also running the Brighton Half Marathon on Feb 24th to raise money for them.

We are really close to our £500 target and if anyone would like to help us support CALM you can donate here or come along to one of our training courses. Or you can turn up to Brighton seafront on the 24th and clap loudly as we run/struggle past!

It was also great to start working with the London Waste & Recycling Board this month - a brilliant team committed to reinvigorating recycling, accelerating the circular economy and helping London become a zero carbon city. I do feel very lucky to be doing what I love for a living and also supporting organisations such as these to create a positive impact.

Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years?

In 5 years I would love to be working with more organisations who are committed to creating a positive social impact. Despite the negativity that sometimes surrounds social networking, I believe that there are ways we can use social media to improve knowledge and change attitudes and positively impact people around the world.

Social Media Links:

Website: https://socialbrighton.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-watkins/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialbrighton/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/social_brighton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/socialbrightontraining/

Get yourself featured as our next ‘Bloomer Of The Month’. Tell us about your project or business achieving amazing things in the Brighton/Sussex area.